Turkish satellite firms begin work on low-Earth orbit satellites

By Arife Yildiz Unal and Hulya Omur Uylas

ANKARA (AA) – Türkiye has made a strong presence in space with eight low-Earth orbit satellites launched one after the other in recent years, which will be bolstered further by Turksat 6A.

With the activation of Turksat 5B, Türkiye's number of satellites in space has increased to eight, but the next step in the satellite sector will be Turksat 6A, which will take its place in space next year, Turkish Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Omer Fatih Sayan said at a press conference at the Information and Communication Technologies Authority in the capital Ankara on Monday.

In Türkiye, in addition to Türksat's work on satellite services, he noted that domestic low-Earth orbit satellite companies such as Plan-S, Hello Space, and Fergani Space Technologies are working on them.

"Some of our companies have already taken concrete steps in the field of low-Earth orbit satellites with test satellites," he added.

He said electronic communication services have long been provided mainly through terrestrial fixed and mobile networks and, in some cases, satellites, and that the beginning of the period in which communication services are moved from land to space is experienced, particularly with broadband internet services via low-Earth orbit satellites.

Such satellites stand out because they enable internet services, he added.

The Turkish government is willing to collaborate with companies active in the low-Earth orbit satellite field, as broadband internet services via such satellites have reclaimed their place on the global agenda, he said.

"We will issue the requirements for authorization and we will be pleased to invite all companies to our country," he added.

In recent years, the deputy minister noted, companies such as Starlink and OneWeb have begun to actively offer services in this field, and with companies such as Telesat and Amazon announcing their plans to offer services, broadband internet services via low Earth orbit satellites have taken its place on the world's agenda again.

Stating that Starlink has started to provide services in different countries with more than 4,000 active satellites and aims to send 40,000 more, Sayan said: "OneWeb has sent more than 650 satellites into space, while Telesat plans to provide services with approximately 1,700 satellites and Amazon with approximately 3,300 satellites."

*Writing by Gokhan Ergocun from Istanbul